Pre-cast concrete structures

ABSTRACT

A system is taught comprising a first plain end concrete structure comprising two side faces extending horizontally to end in two end faces and a second fork end concrete structure comprising two side faces extending horizontally to end in two fork ends; said fork ends each comprising a pair of fork walls that define a slot. The system further comprises a base and a rigid support member embedded in the base, and received within said slot. The width of the slot of one or more of the fork ends at the mouth is sized to receive the end face of the plain end structure and the width of the slot increases from the mouth to the fork end face, and wherein the rigid support member is locked into the slot by the aggregate filler material. A system of stacked structures is taught, said system comprising one or more stacking structures, each comprising two side faces extending vertically to end in a bottom face and a top face, said top face comprising a top profile and said bottom face comprising a bottom profile. The one or more stacking structures are vertically stackable onto each other such that the top profile of a lower structure interfits with the bottom profile of a higher structure in the vertical stack.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to pre-cast concrete structures, systemsof pre-cast concrete structures and methods of assembling pre-castconcrete structures.

BACKGROUND

Pre-cast concrete structures are commonly used in constructionapplications. They are often preferred over cast-in-situ concretestructures since casting conditions can be regulated at an off-sitecasting facility. The pre-cast structure can then be shipped andassembled at the site with less labour and less stringent qualityrequirements. It is also possible to add a number of design features topre-cast concrete structures such as decorative texturing and structuralfeatures.

Pre-cast concrete structures such as fences, walls, sound barriers,retaining walls are typically cast as full height structures that arethen erected on site by means of heavy lifting equipment such as cranes.Due to the need for specialized equipment, the delivery, storage anderection of concrete fences and barriers must be timed precisely tocoincide with availability of the heavy lifting equipment on site.

Pre-cast concrete structures are often cast according to specificconstruction requirements for height, length and width. This requiresexact knowledge of the construction requirements prior to casting andshipping. Should construction conditions change and taller or shorterstructures be required, there is no recourse but to re-cast newstructures to the amended specifications.

A need and interest therefore exists in the art to develop improvedpre-cast concrete structures and methods of assembling pre-cast concretestructure systems such as walls, sound barriers, fences and retainingwalls.

SUMMARY

A system is taught comprising a first plain end concrete structurecomprising two side faces extending vertically to end in a bottom faceand in a top face and extending horizontally to end in two end faces,and a second fork end concrete structure comprising two side facesextending vertically to end in a bottom face and in a top face andextending horizontally to end in two fork ends; said fork ends eachcomprising a pair of fork walls extending from a fork end face to amouth to define a slot. The system further comprises a base forreceiving thereupon the first plain end concrete structure and thesecond fork end concrete structure, a rigid support member embedded inthe base, and received within said slot adjacent the fork end face andan aggregate filler material for filling voids between the supportmember and the slot. A width of the slot of one or more of the fork endsat the mouth is sized to receive the end face of the plain end structureand the width of the slot increases from the mouth to the fork end faceand the rigid support member is locked into the slot by the aggregatefiller material.

A further system of stacked structures is taught, said systemcomprising: one or more stacking structures, each comprising two sidefaces extending vertically to end in a bottom face and a top face, saidtop face comprising a top profile and said bottom face comprising abottom profile wherein said one or more stacking structures arevertically stackable onto each other such that the top profile of alower structure interfits with the bottom profile of a higher structurein the vertical stack. The stacking structures comprise one or moreplain end concrete structures wherein the two side faces extendhorizontally to end in two plain ends; one or more fork end concretestructure wherein the two side faces extend horizontally to end in twofork ends; said fork ends each comprising a pair of fork walls thatdefine a slot; a base for receiving thereupon a lower fork end concretestructure and a lower plain end concrete structure; a rigid supportmember embedded in the base and extending to a height equal to theheight of the stacked system, said rigid support received within saidslot, and an aggregate filler material for filling voids between thesupport member and the slot. The slot has a width sized to receive anend face of one or more first plain end structures such that the endface of the plain end structure is disposed adjacent the rigid supportmember and the rigid support member is locked into the slot by theaggregate filler material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in greater detail, withreference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of one embodiment of the present pre-castconcrete structures;

FIG. 2 is a to plan view of one example of the present pre-cast concretestructures;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of another example of the present pre-castconcrete structures;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of one embodiment of the pilings andsupport members of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of one embodiment of a system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of another embodiment of a system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of another embodiment of a system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present pre-castconcrete system; and

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of the presentpre-cast concrete system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to pre-cast concrete structures andsystems of pre-cast concrete structures. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to pre-cast concrete structures for use as walls,fences, sound barriers, retaining walls, dividers or other well knownconstructional and structural elements. The structures of presentinvention can be easily and economically formed, transported, erectedand stacked as needed. The present structures further do not requireheavy lifting equipment such as cranes for set up or assembly.

The structures of the present invention can be made from a number ofwell-known materials including reinforced concrete or any constructionmaterials composed of aggregates and cementitous materials. Other fluidor semi-fluid materials that can be hardened or solidified may also beused, as well as filler materials joined together with a bonding agentor resin.

An example of the system of structures of the present invention is shownin FIG. 1. The system comprises a pre-cast plain-end structure 2 and apre-cast forked-end structure 4. With reference to FIG. 2, the plan endstructure 2 comprises two preferably substantially parallel side faces 6a, 6 b (collectively referred to as side faces 6) that extendhorizontally to end in end faces 8 a, 8 b (collectively referred to asend faces 8), and extend vertically to end in a bottom face 10 and a topface 12.

The side faces 6 may preferably comprise a texture or decorative patternsuch as, for example plain, textured concrete, revealed concrete, stone,rock, masonry block or brick. Such texture or pattern is more preferablybounded horizontally by a plain surface directly adjacent end faces 8.Further preferably, the texture or pattern may also be boundedvertically by a plain surface directly adjacent top face 12 and bottomface 10.

The fork-end structure 4 is depicted in FIG. 3, and comprises a pair ofpreferably substantially parallel side faces 14 a, 14 b (collectivelyreferred to as side faces 14) that extend vertically to end at a bottomface 16 and a top face 18. The side faces 14 also extend horizontally toend at two fork ends 20 and 22. The side faces 14 may preferablycomprise a texture or decorative pattern such as, for example plain,textured concrete, revealed concrete, stone, rock, masonry block orbrick. Such texture or pattern is more preferably bounded horizontallyby a plain surface directly adjacent fork ends 20, 22. Even furtherpreferably the texture or pattern may also be bounded vertically by aplain surface directly adjacent bottom face 16 and top face 18.

Fork ends 20, 22 comprise a pair of fork walls 24 that extend from thebottom face 16 to the top face 18. The fork walls 24 are connected at afirst end to define a fork end face 26 and are open to a mouth 28 at asecond end to thereby define a slot 30. In one embodiment, the forkwalls 24 are preferably substantially parallel to one another. A widthof the slot 30, as defined by a distance between fork walls 24, ispreferably equal to or greater than a width of the end face 8, toreceive end face 8 and support plain end structure 2 in an uprightposition.

In such a manner, plain end structures 2 and fork end structures 4 canbe inter-fit to form a system such as a wall, fence, sound barrier,divider or retaining wall.

Side faces 6 a, 6 b and 14 a, 14 b are shown as being preferablysubstantially planar and parallel to one another. However it is alsopossible for the side faces 6 a, 6 b and 14 a, 14 b to define a curvedsurface, to comprise ridges or projections, or to be wholly or partiallynon-parallel, to thereby define varying thicknesses between the sidefaces. These and other variations in side faces 6 a, 6 b and 14 a, 14 bcan be envisioned and are encompassed by the scope of the presentinvention.

In a preferred embodiment, one or both of the plain end structure 2 andthe fork end structure 4 may be cast with a reinforcement 38 embeddedwithin the structure for added strength and durability. Suchreinforcement 38 may take the form of a steel plate, rebar, steel meshand any other well known reinforcing products in the art.

In one method of assembly of a system of the present invention, a base34, preferably in the form of a cast-in-situ pile, is poured and a rigidsupport member 36 is embedded into the base 34. This is depicted in FIG.4. The base can be cast by any well known means in the art and mayinclude reinforcing material 46 such as rebar, metal mesh, a wire cageand other well known reinforcement.

Alternatively, the support member 36 may preferably be reinforced withrebar 46 and placed in a pile hole and then the base 34 may be pouredaround the reinforced support member 36. In this embodiment, rebar 46 ismost preferably welded to the support member 36 prior to insertion inthe pile hole. Many other means of pouring the base 34, reinforcing thebase 34 or embedding a support member 36 in a base 34 would be known andwell understood by a person of skill in the art and are encompassed bythe scope of the present invention.

Said support member 36 can preferably be any elongated rigid memberincluding, but not limited to posts, rods, tubes, ‘I’ beams and ‘H’beams. The support member is typically made of steel and is mostpreferably a wide flange beam such as a steel ‘H’ beam. Such supportmembers 36 preferably extend above the base 34 to a final height of theassembled system.

Once cured, a fork end structure 4 can be supported on the pile 34, withthe support member 36 being accommodated in an inner portion of the slot30 near the fork end face 26, as depicted in the right hand side of FIG.5. The end faces 8 of a plain end structure 2 can then be received inthe slot 30 adjacent support member 36.

In an alternate embodiment, the support beam preferably comprises one ormore flanges on one or more sides, such as, for example a wide flange‘H’ beam support member 36. In such cases it is also possible for one ormore of end faces 8 of a plain end structure 2 to be formed with aprojection 42 that can be received into said one or more flanges of thesupport member. One example of this configuration is shown in FIG. 6. Ina further alternative embodiment, the fork end face 26 may comprise afurther projection 44 to be received into another flange of the supportmember 36. It would be understood by a person of skill in the art thatone, both or none of projections 42 and 44 could be present on thepresent system without departing from the scope of the present inventionand that the support beam may comprise one or more flanges on one orboth of its sides.

Preferably, any void space between the support member 36 and the slot 30is filled with aggregate filler 48. The aggregate filler 48 providesadditional rigidity and support to the system and helps to lock thestructures of the system in place. More preferably, the aggregate filleris washed rock. Most preferably the void is filled with ¾ inch (2 cm)washed rock aggregate filler.

Aggregates are well known in the art to be a mixture of rocks, graveland more preferably pebbles of differing sizes. The aggregate filler 48serves to provide additional rigidity and support to the system and tolock the support members 36 and structures in place. The aggregatefiller 48 is preferably not a liquid, like liquid concrete, which canleak out of the slot and may require time to set. The aggregate filler48 rather provides rigidity and locking support as soon as it is filledinto the voids. Aggregate fillers 48 are further advantageous in thatthere is also no concern with cold temperature applications, sincedrying, curing or setting is not required for aggregate filler.

As the rocks of the aggregate filler 48 settle against one another andagainst the surfaces of the support member 36 and structures, frictioncauses the aggregate filler 48 to lock against any abutting surface,thereby providing a frictional locking of the support member 36 intoplace.

Since aggregate filler 48 of the present invention provides a frictionallock, and not a cement bond, between structures and the rigid supportmember 36, the components of the present system can be removed orreplaced as needed for maintenance and repair, without breaking of ordamage to adjoining structures or to the support member 36.

The need for repair of these types of systems is not uncommonoccurrence. As such, the ability to remove and replace separatestructures of the system without damaging the entire system is animportant need.

Furthermore, the plain end structures 2 of the present invention providethe advantage that their simple design allows for ease of removalwithout the concern of protruding fork segments breaking off or ofdamage to the support member. Once the plain end structure 2 is removed,the frictional lock of the aggregate filler 48 is released and theforked end structure 4 can then be removed with ease.

A preferred profile of fork walls 24 are shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, inwhich the width of the slot 30 increases from the mouth 28 to the forkend face 26 such that the width of the slot at the mouth 28 is stillsized to receive and support an end face 8. The increased slot widthbeyond the mouth 28 can be provided by any known shape or profile of thefork walls 24. For example, as depicted in FIG. 7, the fork walls 24 mayangle inwardly from the mouth 28 to the fork end face 26. Alternatively,as depicted in FIG. 5, the fork walls 24 may be substantially parallelto one another at the fork end face 26 and then angle inwardly to form apair of projections 32 at the mouth 28, said projections defining awidth sufficient to receive and support an end face 8 of a plain endstructure 2. Other fork wall 24 profiles are also possible, including acurved fork wall 24 profile, and it would be understood by a person ofskill in the art that such profiles are also encompassed by the scope ofthe present invention.

The increased width of the slot 30 depicted in alternative fork end 22,may be present on both fork ends of a fork end structure 4, or may bepresent on only one end, or alternatively may not be present at all.

The increased width of the slot 30 resulting from fork end 22, mayadvantageously accommodate a larger, and preferably therefore stronger,support members 36. The profile of the fork walls 24 of fork end 22 mayalso advantageously serve to better retain the aggregate filler 48 usedto fill the void between the support member 36 and the slot 30.

In a further preferred embodiment, fork end structures 4 may beconstructed without side walls 14, in the form of a column. In such anembodiment, the column form of fork end structure may comprises one ormore slots 30 formed by one or more pairs of fork walls 24 for receivingone or more plain end structures 2 therein. The slots 30 may be formedin line with one another such that a linear fence or wall system may beformed with plane end structures 2 in spaces of small length.Alternatively, the slots 30 may be at perpendicular angles to oneanother such that plane end structures 2 are received therein to form acorner of a fence or wall system. Finally, a singular slot 30 may beformed in a column form of a fork end structure to form an end piece toa fence or wall system.

The structures 2, 4 of the present system may be formed in anydimensions of height, width and depth that are preferred for theformation of systems of sound barriers, fences, retaining walls andother related systems.

In a preferred embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 8, two or more plain endstructures 2 and two or more fork end structures 4 may be stacked on topof each other to obtain the desired final system height. Preferably, toaid in stacking, a profile 40 is formed on each of the bottom face 10and top face 12 of the plain end structure 2 and on the top face 18 andbottom face 16 of the fork end structure 4. These profiles 40 inter-fitwhen the structures are stacked to facilitate alignment of thestructures 2, 4 upon one another, such that no strain is place on rigidsupport member 36, which extends through stacked slots 30. Profiles 40also provide a connection between the stack structures 2, 4 with minimalvoids for water or light ingress. In the case of systems of the presentstructures 2, 4 being used as sound barriers, the profiles 40 also serveto improve sound insulation.

The profiles 40 may be of any shape and configuration well known in theart and can include, for example, shiplap profiles, tongue-and-grooveprofiles, dovetail profiles, and any other profiles that interfit uponstacking, as depicted in FIG. 9. Since the structures 2, 4 of thepresent invention are pre-cast concrete, the profile 40 is morepreferably of such shape that can be easily created from a mould or formand cast with minimum distortion or breaking. Most preferably theprofile 40 comprises a ship-lap joint, is also depicted in FIG. 9.

The structures 2, 4 of the present system are most preferably cast inheights of 1 foot (30 cm), 2 feet (60 cm) or 3 feet (91 cm). At suchheights, the structures 2,4 are advantageously easily maneuvered andlifted into place by smaller equipment such as bobcats, forklifts,telescopic handlers and the like, which are commonly found onconstruction sites. The preferred heights of the structures 2, 4 do notrequire the use of larger specialty equipment such as cranes forassembly of the present system.

The support member 36 of the present invention preferably extends abovethe base 34 to the full height of the present assembled system. Thus,for example in assembling a system comprising a stack of threestructures, each being 3 feet (91 cm) in height, the support member 36would extend 9-foot (2.75 m) above the base 34.

As the height of the assembled system increases, and correspondingly theheight of the support member 36 above base 34, the depth that thesupport member 36 is embedded into the base 34 is also preferablyincreased. This arrangement advantageously improves support of thesystem against increased wind loads as the height of the systemincreases. The thickness of the support member and its cross sectionalsize is also preferably increased with increasing height of the stackedsystem and increased height of the support member. Some examples ofratios of system height, support member size and embedment depth of awide flange or I- beam support member are given in Table 1 below:

TABLE 1 Support Member Size and Embedment Depth as a Function of SystemHeight System Height Base Depth Support Member Size Support Member Range(mm) (mm) (mm) Embedment (mm) 1500-2000 2440 19 mm thickness × 600 100flange width 2000-2500 2440 19 mm thickness × 800 100 flange width2500-3000 2440 19 mm thickness × 800 100 flange width 3000-3500 2440 24mm thickness × 1000 130 mm flange width 3500-4000 2400 24 mm thickness ×1000 130 mm flange width

In a further preferred embodiment, the assembled system of the presentinvention may further comprise a coping (not shown) covering the topfaces 12, 18 of structures 2, 4 respectively. A sealing means (notshown) may preferably cover fork ends 22, 24 to prevent ingress of waterinto voids between the support member 36 and plain ends 8, and the slot30. Such sealing means can be any suitable means of sealing the forkends 22, 24 including but not limited to caps, concrete covers,flashing, membranes or the use of sealants and the like.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with aspecific embodiment thereof; however, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from thescope of the invention.

1. A system comprising: a) a first plain end concrete structurecomprising two side faces extending vertically to end in a bottom faceand in a top face and extending horizontally to end in two end faces; b)a second fork end concrete structure comprising two side faces extendingvertically to end in a bottom face and in a top face and extendinghorizontally to end in two fork ends; said fork ends each comprising apair of fork walls extending from a fork end face to a mouth to define aslot; c) a base for receiving thereupon the first plain end concretestructure and the second fork end concrete structure; d) a rigid supportmember embedded in the base, and received within said slot adjacent thefork end face; and e) an aggregate filler material for filling voidsbetween the support member and the slot, wherein a width of the slot ofone or more of the fork ends at the mouth is sized to receive the endface of the plain end structure and the width of the slot increases fromthe mouth to the fork end face, and wherein the rigid support member islocked into the slot by the aggregate filler material.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the fork walls of the slot comprise projections at themouth, said projections defining a width sufficient to receive an endface of a plain end structure.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein theside faces of the first plain end structure and the second fork endstructure comprise a texture or decorative pattern.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the texture or decorative pattern is selected from thegroup consisting of plain, textured concrete, revealed concrete, stone,rock, masonry block and brick.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein thetexture or pattern is bordered by a plain surface directly adjacent thetop faces, bottom faces, the end faces and the fork ends.
 6. The systemof claim 1, wherein the base is a cast-in-situ pile.
 7. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the cast-in-situ pile is reinforced with reinforcingmaterial selected from the group consisting of rebar, metal mesh andwire cage.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the support member isreinforced with reinforcing material and the pile is cast around thesupport member to embed said support member.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein the support member is welded with rebar for reinforcement. 10.The system of claim 1, wherein the plain end structure comprisesreinforcement embedded within the structure.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the fork end structure comprises reinforcement embedded withinthe structure.
 12. The system of claim 21, wherein the reinforcement isselected from the group consisting of a steel plate, rebar and steelmesh.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the support member is selectedfrom the group consisting of posts, rods, tubes, ‘I’ beams and ‘H’beams.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the support member is a wideflange steel ‘H’ beam.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the supportmember extends above the base to a height equal to a height of thesystem.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the first plain endstructures and the second fork end structures have a height from bottomface to top face that is selected from the group consisting of 1 foot(30 cm), 2 feet (60 cm) and 3 feet (91 cm).
 17. The system of claim 1,wherein the first plain end structures and the second fork endstructures are assembled by use of equipment selected from the groupconsisting of bobcats, forklifts and telescopic handlers.
 18. The systemof claim 1, wherein: a) one or more of said end faces of said firstplain end concrete structure comprise a first projection; and b) one ormore sides of said rigid support member comprises one or more flanges,wherein the first projection is received adjacent to said one or moreflanges of the rigid support member.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein:a) one or more of said fork end faces of said second fork end concretestructure comprise a second projection; and b) one or more sides of saidrigid support member comprises one or more flanges, wherein the secondprojection is received adjacent to said one or more flanges of the rigidsupport member.
 20. The system of claim 1, wherein: a) one or more ofsaid end faces of said first plain end concrete structure comprise afirst projection; b) one or more of said fork end faces of said secondfork end concrete structure comprise a second projection; and c) one ormore sides of said rigid support member comprises one or more flanges,wherein the first projection and the second are received adjacent tosaid one or more flanges of the rigid support member.
 21. A system ofstacked structures, said system comprising: one or more stackingstructures, each comprising two side faces extending vertically to endin a bottom face and a top face, said top face comprising a top profileand said bottom face comprising a bottom profile wherein said one ormore stacking structures are vertically stackable onto each other suchthat the top profile of a lower structure interfits with the bottomprofile of a higher structure in the vertical stack; wherein thestacking structures comprise; a) one or more plain end concretestructures wherein the two side faces extend horizontally to end in twoplain ends; b) one or more fork end concrete structure wherein the twoside faces extend horizontally to end in two fork ends; said fork endseach comprising a pair of fork walls that define a slot; c) a base forreceiving thereupon a lower fork end concrete structure and a lowerplain end concrete structure; f) a rigid support member embedded in thebase and extending to a height equal to the height of the stackedsystem, said rigid support received within said slot, and g) anaggregate filler material for filling voids between the support memberand the slot, wherein said slot has a width sized to receive an end faceof one or more first plain end structures such that the end face of theplain end structure is disposed adjacent the rigid support member andwherein the rigid support member is locked into the slot by theaggregate filler material.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein the topprofile and bottom profile are selected from the group consisting ofshiplap profiles, tongue-and-groove profiles and dovetail profiles. 23.The system of claim 22, wherein the profile is a ship-lap profile. 24.The system of claim 21, wherein embedment of the support member into thebase increases with increasing height of the stacked system.
 25. Thesystem of claim 21, wherein the thickness and cross sectional size ofthe support member increases with increasing height of the stackedsystem.